My Kingdom is Not of This World
By Pastor Matt Black
September
17, 2006
Lord's Day Evening
Isaiah 9:6-7
Introduction: Again we come to this text of Isaiah 9 tonight. Stand with me as we read verses 1-7. Tonight we are going to see the nature of Christ’s kingdom. The title of tonight’s message comes from Jesus’ words in John 18:36: “My Kingdom is Not of This World”.
[Stand and read Isaiah 9:1-7]
Isaiah 9:6-7, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
We come now to the last message on this verse. We see here that Christ has an investment in a Kingdom. The nature of this kingdom is very important. If this is simply a physical kingdom that He is setting up, and that we are waiting for in the future, then this text has very little relevance to us today. Yet this is what some Christians teach on this text. They say, we have to wait for this text to be fulfilled. It is sometime in the future with physical Israel. Yet we must say what the Bible says, not what our system of theology tells us to say. We believe the Bible. We must go line upon line, precept upon precept. The best interpreter of the Bible is… the Bible! So we come to verse 6.
Verse 6 tells us, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder”.
We need to ask ourselves several questions.
I. What does the Bible say about the nature of Christ’s government? Is it physical or is it spiritual? We’ve looked at this question briefly in past messages, but we need to remind ourselves how Jesus Himself spoke of the kingdom. That is all important.
A. Old Testament References. The phrases, kingdom of heaven, kingdom of Christ, and kingdom of God, occur many times in the Bible. They all refer to the same thing. The expectation of a Messianic kingdom was taken from the Old Testament, from the prophets, especially Isaiah, Daniel, and Jeremiah.
1. Isaiah. The Kingdom will be Divine in nature. We have already looked at our text in Isaiah. Over and over God says—a child will be born. A virgin will conceive. God will be with you. This is clearly revealing His human nature and the vicarious nature of His kingdom. He’s coming to live as us and for us. This is seen in Isaiah 7:14 and especially from our text in Isaiah 9:6-7.
2. Daniel. The Kingdom will be Universal in nature. In Daniel we see the populous of Christ’s kingdom. We see the universal nature of the kingdom. Isaiah hints at this too when he says Its increase has no end. It’s not just Jewish in nature, but rules over all people as we see in Daniel 7:13-14. Look over at the text in Daniel 7. We read, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
3. Jeremiah. The Kingdom will be Spiritual in nature. The prophets had told of a successor to David that should sit on his throne. This is clear from what we see in Jeremiah 33:17, “For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.” If this is a physical kingdom, then the Lord’s promises clearly failed when the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin were taken into Babylonian exile. In 587 BC, a physical king ceased to sit on the throne of David. From that time on, puppet kings began to rule from Jerusalem. First it was the Babylonians, then the Persians, then the Greeks ruled there with the influence of Alexander the Great. So that when Christ came into the world, the Herodian dynasty of kings were in place. The Herod family were usurpers of the throne. They had no right to it. They were mixed bread Samaritans, and had no legal or royal right to the throne.
B. Old Testament Expectations. The spiritual nature of the kingdom was lost to the Jews. They would read passages like 1 Kings 8:25 and be convinced that it had to be physical, especially since it referred to a man. Look over at 1 Kings 8. “Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.”
The Jews expected a great national deliverer. They supposed that when the Messiah should appear, that the enemies of the Jews would be destroyed, and that the physical nation of Israel would be placed above all other nations.
C. Expectations at the Time of Christ. This is obvious, because the disciples at various times would ask about the universal establishment of a physical kingdom.
1. The Disciples. Just before the ascension of Christ we read in Acts 1:6, “Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
2. Peter. Peter is a good representative of thought amongst the disciples. Even after being taught of Jesus for several years, when it came time for Christ’s death, Peter himself girded himself with a sword. And Matthew 26:50 records that the Jews “laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?”
Christ says if it were His intent to rule physically here on earth, He wouldn’t have need Peter’s help! A physical kingdom was never Christ’s intent! The intent of Christ in His kingdom was to set up a spiritual kingdom through His death, burial, and resurrection.
We’ve seen what the Bible says about the nature of Christ’s kingdom. Now let us turn to the Lord Himself. Of course, we’ve barely skimmed the surface, but these Scriptures are representative of the whole.
II. What does Christ say about the nature of this government? When Christ walked the earth, He announced that the Kingdom of God had arrived. We see this in the first proclamation of the kingdom in Matthew 4:17. Christ said, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
A. The Call of Christ’s Kingdom: Repentance. So here Christ comes into the world. And what does He do? Instead of summoning them to organize the military, and putting together an army, which would have made perfect sense with their expectations, he called them to a change of life; to repentance—this is a call not to a physical kingdom—to submit to a physical reign, but to a spiritual call to a spiritual reign!
B. The Coordination [TIMING] of Christ’s Kingdom. What does this mean—the kingdom is “at hand”? It had arrived. It was on their doorstep. Christ was making His kingdom possible at that very moment by living a perfect vicarious life for all of His subjects. From his conception and virgin birth, He was living for the reconciliation of His people. Upon Christ’s entrance into this world, He began setting up His church. This age of grace was about to begin. He was about to begin drawing people to Himself in a worldwide manner.
Explanation: We have to ask ourselves a question here. Wasn’t Christ in a sense the King of all the saints in the Old Testament? Weren’t they part of Christ’s Kingdom? Yes this is clear from many passages in the NT. We Gentiles are added to the good olive tree (Romans 11). We are as we will shortly see in our study tonight, “fellowcitizens with the saints” (Ephesians 2:19). We are part of “city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22). This is all Jewish language. The kingdom was present in the Old Testament. What is new is not the kind of kingdom that was coming, but the SCOPE of the kingdom. It was about to get really BIG! At Christ’s entrance into the world,
C. The Community of Christ’s Kingdom: The Kingdom of Heaven. This is a community of people that reside in heaven. This is exactly the teaching of the apostles.
1. We are citizens of heaven. Philippians 3:20, “For our conversation [politeuma—CITIZENSHIP] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” See Christ has subdued us, his saints, already through salvation, but there is coming a day when he will come from heaven “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
2. Fellowcitizens with the saints. Ephesians 2:19 uses this kind of political language. When it says, “therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God”, is this taking about a physical kingdom? If I am a fellowcitizen with the saints, then my citizenship is in heaven.
3. Citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. When we were born again, we were literally “born from above”. We were “born of the Spirit”. Hebrews 12:22 tells us that at that time we entered Christ’s kingdom. It says, “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.”
D. The Clarification of Christ’s Kingdom. Listen to the words of Jesus concerning the spiritual nature of His kingdom in John 18:33 and following. Turn over there. Pilate essentially asks Christ if he has a physical kingdom. He says to Pilate basically, I’m not interfering with your rule. My kingdom is of a different nature than yours. It’s as plain and unequivocal as it can be. We read in John 18:33, “Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 36 My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.” We read on that from that time forward Pilate sought His release.
Notice Christ says, “now is my kingdom not from hence”—that is not from here—not from this realm. Here is the turning point. At one point Christ’s kingdom was both physical and spiritual. It has never been purely physical. God’s work is always in the heart of man. The physical has always been as a picture and a shadow to reach the heart. Christ’s kingdom from Pentecost forward is purely a heavenly kingdom.
E. The Claims of Christ’s Kingdom. We read here in John 18 and verse 36, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
1. The Realm of Christ. He here plainly admits that he did claim to be a king, but not in the sense in which the Jews understood it. They charged him with attempting to set up an earthly kingdom, and of encouraging a rebellion against Caesar. In reply to this, Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world— that is, it is not of the same nature as earthly kingdoms. It was not originated for the same purpose, or conducted on the same plan. He immediately adds a point in which they differ. He says, “if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews”. The kingdoms of the world are defended by arms; they maintain armies and engage in wars. If the kingdom of Jesus had been of this kind, he would have encouraged the multitudes that followed Him to prepare for battle. He would have armed the hosts that attended Him to Jerusalem. He would not have been alone and unarmed in the garden of Gethsemane.
2. The Reign of Christ. Though Christ was a king, yet his dominion was NOT over some physical kingdom, but over the heart, subduing evil passions and corrupt desires, and bringing the soul to the love of peace and unity in Him. We are given commands then as a part of Christ’s Kingdom. There is real warfare to be had. So we read in various parts of the Scriptures…
III. Practical Applications.
A. Arm your Soul.
1 Peter 1:13 tells us that which we need to protect. Not our bodies, but our soul—our mind! He says, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind…”
Again, in Ephesians 6:11, Paul tells us that we must “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Physical armour will not help us. You must not care for your body, but for your soul. The Lord tells us in Matthew 10:28, to “fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
It will do you no good wage war in the flesh. Arm your soul! But then we see a second application.
B. Engage your Enemy.
1. DEVILS: Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
2. SIN: Hebrews 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
C. Use your Weapons.
1. Put Aside the Carnal weapons of warfare.
2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2. Put on the Armour of God. Ephesians 6:14-17, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…”
IV. Summary
Let us summarize the rest of verse 7. Much of this we have already looked at. Look at verse 7, “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.”
A. Christ’s Government shall increase without end. The idea here is that Christ’s Kingdom will continue to progressively increase until He occupies all. That is what is happening in the Great Commission. The Gospel will spread until the end. As Matthew 24:14 says, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end
B. Peace shall increase without end. Peace and increase are mentioned together. Human governments increase through war, but not Christ’s. It is a spiritual kingdom, and He increases it by conquering the hearts of men. As Christ’s government increases, peace increases. Peace in a kingdom means that there is total control in the kingdom. Christ conquers through the new birth!
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.
C. David’s Throne will be occupied. The child that is born shall sit upon the throne of David, ordering His kingdom.
1. The word order means to found. We sing “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord”. He is the Chief Cornerstone! He is what the kingdom is built on. His atoning work and resurrection to the right hand of the Father to intercede for us.
2. He will found it (order it) and establish it. That is, He will bring it to a conclusion. Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
He’ll do this through two things.
a. Judgment: Judgment begins with Christ drawing us into His kingdom. He applies the law to our hearts through the Spirit.
b. Justice: This is another word for righteousness! He does it by imputing righteousness to our account!
Conclusion: “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this”! I love it! It’s the power of God that will bring the kingdom in. Our programs cannot accomplish it. Our games and special days and good ideas will not bring it about. God’s grace, His unmerited favor, His force and influence—His ZEAL will accomplish it. Are you seeking Christ’s Kingdom or your own? Are you submitting to the omnipotent zeal of the Lord in your life for His glory and your good?
Closing Hymn: 333 Open Our Eyes Lord